The Bounty Hunter
by BountyHunter57
Summary: The Chancellor gets a new bodyguard, and the Jedi are intrigued by his strength in the force. Set mid-season 5.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Anakin POV

Anakin felt puzzled. He had been with the Jedi Order for many years, and he thought that he knew everybody at the Temple, even the younglings. But as he walked to the office of his good friend Chancellor Palpatine, he felt an unfamiliar force signature.

"Hello Chancellor!" Anakin said with a smile as he opened the door to his friends office.

"Oh, hello Master Skywalker, what a pleasant surprise." The Chancellor exclaimed as he turned around in his chair.

Anakin surveyed the room, and noticed something odd, very odd. A man, no, a _boy_ stood to the right side of the Chancellor's desk nearly completely decked out in black and gray mandalorian armor, minus the helmet, which he held at his side. Something else about the boy bothered him as well... _the force signature._ This boy possessed the unfamiliar force signature he sensed walking into the room.

"What brings you here on this fine day Anakin?" Chancellor Palpatine asked, prying Anakin's attention away from the boy.

"Senator Amidala asked me to run these over," Anakin said as he strode over to the Chancellor's desk and dropped a stack of papers on his desk.

Anakin then turned his attention back to the boy. He had black hair, brown eyes, tall and muscular, and he also radiated confidence. His eyes looked Anakin over as if assessing whether or not Anakin posed any threat. Everything about him screamed _bounty hunter._ But why would a bounty hunter be in the Chancellor's office?"

"I see you've noticed my new personal bodyguard," Chancellor Palpatine stated, "Anakin this is Nate Fuller, Nate this is Anakin Skywalker, Jedi Knight." the Chancellor said, gesturing to both men.

The bounty hunter, Nate, broke out a cocky grin and offered his hand to Anakin, "pleased to meet your acquaintance, Master Skywalker." Anakin accepted the handshake and responded simply, "me as well. However, how did someone of your age manage to get such a prestigious title?"

Nate shrugged, "I signed a contract," he stated, that cocky grin reemerging.

Anakin scowled at his smartass remark as the Chancellor chuckled. "Oh don't worry Anakin, I assure you I wouldn't have chosen Nate if he wasn't capable. He was a successful bounty hunter before he came to work with me."

So Anakin had been right, Nate was a bounty hunter. "Why did a bounty hunter such as yourself decide to take up being a bodyguard?" He asked.

Nate just shrugged, "it pays well." He stated simply.

Anakin turned his attention back towards the Chancellor. "Chancellor this is entirely unnecessary, the Jedi can protect you just fine!"

"The Jedi are generals Anakin, they may be called into battle at any moment, I wanted someone highly skilled who was more... consistent." The Chancellor responded.

"Don't worry Master Skywalker, the Chancellor is in good hands," Nate said confidently. Anakin was really starting to dislike the kids cocky behavior. He was about to open his mouth and continue arguing his point when his padawan, Ahsoka Tano walked into the office.

"Hey, Skyguy! The council wants to speak to us. Something about a mission. We better get going."

"Skyguy?" Nate snickered. Anakin gave him a dirty look as he said his goodbyes to the Chancellor and walked out of the room with Ahsoka.

"First off, Skyguy? In front of the Chancellor? C'mon Snips work with me here." Ahsoka couldn't help but snicker at her Masters exasperation. With a deep sigh, Anakin continued, "Second off, did you sense that kid's force signature? He seems pretty powerful, how did the Jedi not find him when he was younger?"

"Yeah I noticed that as well Master, quite strange." Ahsoka said frowning.

Very strange, Anakin thought to himself. He made a mental note to keep a close eye on that kid.

"The Separatists have sent a small force to take the planet Florrum. They have already erected a base, so it will by no means be an easy task. You and Commander Tano will be accompanied by Master Kenobi." Said Mace Windu.

"Go to Florrum, you will. Take back the planet, you must." Said Yoda.

"Yes Master," said Anakin with a slight bow. "C'mon Snips let's get going and board our cruiser."

As they walked out of the council room and towards the landing bay Anakin once again thought about the boy, Nate, with the weird force signature. There was no doubt that he was strong with the force, Anakin had been able to sense him as soon as he entered the building. But how could the Jedi have missed such a strong force signature?

"So what's your genius plan to take back Florrum Skyguy?" Said Ahsoka, tearing his concentration away from his thoughts.

"Um, well part two of the plan isn't quite finished. But part one solid, don't worry Ahsoka." Responded Anakin.

Ahsoka raised her facial markings in a way that said, _I highly doubt every word that came out of your mouth just now._ "Mm hm. Yea, sure. So what is this _genius_ part one you've come up with?"

"To get on the cruiser and fly to Florrum of course," Anakin stated with a smile. Ahsoka rolled her eyes and muttered something under her breath.

"Well I'm glad we have such an excellent plan in place before we even leave," replied Ahsoka sarcastically. "And I am honored to be the padawan of one of the finest military strategists in the Republic Army."

"Oh, shut up and get to the cruiser," Anakin said, returning to his thoughts. There was something else that bothered Anakin about Nate, something he couldn't quite figure out. It made him uneasy, there was something about Nate that he didn't like, and it wasn't just that he was a little bit of an ass. It was something... darker. He shifted his thoughts as he entered the hangar bay.

The hangar bay was one of Anakin's favorite places in the entire temple. It had a beautiful view of Coruscant, and plenty of ships to tinker with. Anakin had always been good with his hands, he was quite the mechanic. Anakin sighed, he was tempted to blow off the mission and help someone repair the Jedi fighters instead to help take his mind off of Nate, but he didn't want Master Windu to put him on janitor duty for _another_ week.

He boarded his cruiser to find Obi-Wan already onboard. "Hello Master, it is nice to see you again."

"It is nice to see you as well my former padawan." Obi-Wan replied with a smile. However that smile quickly changed to a confused look. "Who is your new friend Anakin?"

"Obi-Wan, you know who Ahsoka is, what are you talking about?" Anakin said, just as confused as Obi-Wan.

"I don't think he's talking about me master," Ahsoka replied.

"I think that he's talking about me," Nate said as he walked on board the cruiser.

"What are you doing here? Why are you on my ship?" Anakin replied with a nasty tone. "I thought you were the Chancellor's bodyguard, you should probably return to your post before I report you."

"I'm just as confused as you are Master Skywalker, but the Chancellor asked me to go on this mission with you, so I'm gonna go. Here's the papers the Chancellor gave me." He handed Anakin a datapad containing all of the necessary papers to get on the ship and take part in the mission.

"For kriff's sake," Anakin said under his breath. "Fine, but don't distract anyone." He said as he turned around and marched away. Great, just great he thought to himself. The one guy I don't trust, just puts himself on my mission. He would have to have a long talk with the Chancellor when he got back.


	2. Chapter 2

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Chapter 2

Ahsoka POV

Ahsoka had decided to eat lunch with Nate, they were both on this mission now, might as well get to know him. Looking back on that decision now, she wished that she could've slapped herself for the very thought. Nate was the first person she had ever met who was force sensitive but not in the Jedi Order or the Sith. And she wasn't very impressed. She had heard nothing but stories. Stories that always seemed to end up in Nate escaping some impossible situation or bravely fighting off 10 or more strong men armed to the teeth with dangerous weaponry.

Call me crazy, but I highly doubt any of this is true, Ahsoka thought. Even if he was trained in the ways of the force it would take incredible skill for these stories to be even remotely possible. Nate seemed to _love_ talking about himself, she didn't think that he had even mentioned anyone else besides himself in any of the stories he had told her.

Desperate to get him to talk about something besides himself Ahsoka asked, "is there anyone else in your life, or are you just a lone wolf?"

Nate immediately tensed up. He started looking around the room as if he felt he was in danger and was assessing the just how dangerous the situation was. Ahsoka could sense his mental shields going up, along with a feeling she hadn't expected, fear. It was pretty obvious she had struck a nerve.

"I don't really want to talk about that Ahsoka," Nate said

"If you don't wanna talk about, that's ok, I understand. I've had my fair share of bad experiences with family." Ahsoka said. She knew personally that an out of the picture family was a tough deal to live with.

Slowly, Nate started to relax, his mental shields remained up, but his fear was gone.

Nate gave a long sigh. "No, no, it's ok. This might be good to get off of my chest anyways." He paused as if considering how best to continue, or even if he should continue at all.

"I grew up on Mandalore in what is called an 'unstable household', but it was a lot worse than that. My dad, well, that's the thing. I don't really know. He walked out out on my mom as soon as he found out she was pregnant. Mom was heartbroken, I don't think she really ever got over him. She always used to say that I looked exactly like him, but as I got older I could tell that the resemblance wasn't a good thing. Everytime she looked at me it was like her heart broke all over again. I felt like I caused her so much pain, but I couldn't do a single thing about it." Nate said.

Ahsoka noticed that the more he talked, the less focused he became, as if remembering an unpleasant memory. Nate's eyes also allowed her to see something she hadn't before, a deep sadness. The type of sadness that told her Nate's spirit had been broken long ago.

"Mom, she did the best she could but... times were tough. She lost her job while I was still in diapers. She had no options and she turned to prostitution to try and provide for me. I wish I had been old enough to understand what she sacrificed for for me, but of course I didn't. All I was concerned about was getting candy and waking up early to watch whatever stupid cartoon I was into. So while I was walking around being a pompous asshole of a little kid, she suffered at the expense of her own dignity to support me. I don't think I'll ever really forgive myself for never just giving her a break every once in awhile." Nate had to take a deep breath and calm himself down. Shame was written all over his face.

"You don't have to continue Nate, I know this must be really hard for you." Ahsoka said, placing a comforting hand on his. She did understand after all. She possessed no memories at all of her parents, the Jedi Order was the only thing she had ever known. And the way Nate spoke about his mom in the past tense told her what happened next, and she wasn't sure if Nate would be able to make it through that part without breaking down.

"Thanks Ahsoka, maybe... maybe I'll be able to continue some other time but... not now." Nate replied, a pained expression on his face.

The cocky, selfish prick Ahsoka had first met was completely gone. He had been replaced by someone completely different. Someone humble, wise beyond his years, and sad. No, not sad, broken. Broken in every imaginable way possible. This, Ahsoka suspected, was the real Nate Fuller. If that was true, well then it was no wonder he put on a fake cocky persona. Pretending to be something you aren't is a great way to help mask the pain of the person you really are. She'd seen the same type of thing with her master. Anakin had never told her much about his past, and whenever she had asked him about it she'd always been given the same response: "I don't wanna talk about it." Obi-Wan had once told her that he had been a slave before the Jedi had brought him to the temple, but that was all that she knew.

"Strange," Ahsoka thought, she had been working with her master for 2 years, they had developed an unbreakable bond, and he had never opened up to her the way Nate had after only a few minutes of knowing her. Ahsoka made a mental note to press Anakin further the next time she had a chance.

"I understand Nate. I never knew my parents, Master Plo found me on the streets when I was very little, completely alone. He took me back to the Jedi Temple. I've always wondered what my parents would be like, or if they're even still alive. I guess I'll always have those questions," Ahsoka said.

Nate nodded knowingly, "Ahsoka, have you ever heard of the saying, it's better to have loved and lost, than to never have loved at all?"

Ahsoka nodded.

"Well, it's total bullshit, trust me. Consider yourself lucky. You'll never have to deal with the pain of losing your parents and, unlike me, you have a new family in the Jedi Order."

Ahsoka smiled and said, "Thanks Nate, that helps... a lot actually."

"No problem Ahsoka, I have to admit that I'm pretty jealous, and not just about your family situation."

"What is it then?" Ahsoka replied curiously.

"Well, you're a Jedi. You've dedicated your life to helping other people. You live to serve. Me? I live only for myself, I do what's only in my best interest. I could never do what you do, I'm too selfish. Too much of a coward." Nate said with a sour look on his face.

Ahsoka was surprised, to say the least. Just five minutes ago she never would have imagined Nate saying that in her wildest dreams. She had also never expected that he could have answered questions that had been nagging her since she was a youngling. Ahsoka had thought that was what her master was for. Her conversation with Nate may have answered some questions, but it had asked a whole slew of new ones. How come she could never have this talk with her master? Why did she have to talk with a stranger just to talk about what had been troubling her? However, before Ahsoka could finish her thought process Nate continued.

"Now where was I? Oh yea, I was on Tatooine and I was completely surrounded by-"

Ahsoka rolled her eyes as he launched into yet another story. But he couldn't fool her twice, he had shown her who he really was. But why did he try so hard to hide it? Especially when he had already shown it to her?

000

Ahsoka had a bad feeling as she boarded her gunship with members of the 501st and the 212th battalions. In the unlikely event that the Separatists would know of their arrival on Florrum, they had put each of the Jedi on a different gunship in case one of them went down. Anakin and Obi-Wan were on their own gunships. Nate was on her gunship alongside her, decked out in his full black and gray mandalorian armor. This time he had his helmet on, and it unnerved Ahsoka. He no longer looked like the broken man she had seen earlier, he looked like a soldier. She didn't understand how someone could live of life of such opposites. He looked dangerous, his armor boasted a flamethrower, a jetpack, and a whipcord thrower. Throw in the brand new E-11 blaster he was holding and he looked pretty intimidating. One might think that he would feel confident because of this, but Ahsoka could sense just how worried Nate was. She wondered if they were feeling the same type of foreshadowing from the force.

Not for the first time she found herself wondering about his powerful force signature. He had mentioned that he was born on Mandalore, so it was no wonder the Jedi hadn't found him. Even after the Mandalorians had adopted pacifist ways the Jedi tried as hard as possible to avoid Mandalore. There were still extremist groups there who wanted to see the end of the Jedi, such as Deathwatch.

Ahsoka thought about the last time she had faced off against Deathwatch. During that time she had been trying to keep her friend Lux Bonteri from getting himself killed with his stupid plot for revenge on Dooku. She remembered pretending to be his betrothed, and how she had been ranting to Lux how stupid his plan was. She had been ranting about how the Deathwatch were sworn enemies of the Jedi when Lux had pulled her into a kiss. Although originaly surprised and a little bit angry she quickly became grateful when she realized that Deathwatch had just entered their tent. He had probably saved her life in that moment, and given Ahsoka her first kiss. Ahsoka couldn't help but enjoy the kiss. She had forgotten how much she missed Lux, she hadn't seen him since she had helped him fight for Onderon's freedom. Onderon was in talks about joining the republic now that they had won their freedom from the separatists. Since Lux was the newly appointed senator of Onderon, Ahsoka hoped that maybe she could see him more often.

No, Ahsoka chastised herself for thinking such thoughts. She was a Jedi, she could have no attachment. Attachment led to the darkside. Still...

Ahsoka's thoughts were interrupted by the sound of the gunship pilot announcing that they had entered the atmosphere . They instantly came under fire. "I should've paid more attention to my instincts," Ahsoka thought as the blast doors on the gunship closed. Before she could continue thinking a huge explosion rocked the front of the ship.

Ahsoka knew they were screwed. She could sense that the pilot was dead and they were gaining speed as they hurtled towards the ground.

"Brace for impact!" Ahsoka yelled as everyone grabbed onto the railing.

There was nothing to do but wait. It was the worst kind of torture, the kind you didn't want to end, because the end meant more than likely death. Ahsoka felt impact as the gunship crashed. Her Lekku was slammed against the wall, causing her to yell out in agony. She lost her grip and fell to the back of the gunship. Everything went black.


End file.
